1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oral care system for cleaning the mouth of a patient having a temporary or permanent disability interfering with the patient's ability to practice oral hygiene. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system wherein a plurality of instruments are attachable to a common suction/lavage handle to facilitate cleaning the mouth of a bedridden or otherwise incapacitated patient who cannot regularly practice oral hygiene.
2. State of the Art
There are many situations in which an individual is temporarily or permanently unable to practice oral hygiene in a convenient manner. One particular problem is presented by critical care patients in hospitals, as well as those in hospitals and nursing homes who require respirators to breath. Not only can the patient typically not walk or otherwise move to a restroom, the patient is often unable to hold the tooth brush and other oral hygiene instruments which are commonly used to keep one's mouth clean.
Because of these problems, the oral hygiene of many patients must be conducted by nurses or nurse's aids. The oral hygiene for each such patient must be worked in to an already hectic routine. Therefore, it is common for oral hygiene to be omitted on any given day, and it is not uncommon for a patient to go several days without proper oral hygiene.
While devices to provide such oral hygiene have been suggested, each has disadvantages which limit its use on a broad scale. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,792, shows an aspirating toothbrush. The toothbrush has two passages formed therein. A first channel connects a lavage passage with an opening adjacent the bristles of the toothbrush. A second channel connects a plurality of holes disposed on the opposing side of the toothbrush opposite the bristles with a suction source. In use, the bristles are placed against the patients teeth or tongue and water or some other solution is injected into the patients mouth. The water or solution is then extracted through the holes on the opposite side of the toothbrush.
One problem with the toothbrush is that the position of the suction holes tends to bring them in contact with the soft tissue lining the mouth. If the tissue covers the holes, no suction relief is provided and the toothbrush becomes stuck to the side of the patient's mouth. If the suction is sufficient, the tissue can be damaged as the toothbrush is pulled away.
Another problem with the use of a suction toothbrush is that it provides only one tool for cleaning the mouth. Depending on the dental hygiene concern, several other devices may be desired to promote thorough and efficient cleaning. For example, a patient may be able to eat semisolid foods, but lack the motor coordination to brush his or her own teeth. To clean small pieces of food from between the cheek and gum, a long, thin catheter like instrument would be preferred. Using the toothbrush of the above referenced patent, however, would be more difficult, and would risk the toothbrush suctionally attaching to the wall of the patient's mouth.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,953 discloses an alternate embodiment of the toothbrush idea. The device avoids a substantial portion of the suction concern by placing the suction port between the bristles at the head of the toothbrush. In such a position, the suction opening would rarely come into direct contact with the soft tissue in the patient's mouth. Unfortunately, the configuration of the device makes it very difficult to use to clean between the cheek and gum, and in other small crevices in the mouth in which small particles of food can become trapped and cause irritation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,342 discloses yet another device for withdrawing saliva from the mouth. While the device provides some control over saliva withdrawal, it does not provide lavage for cleaning or bristles for loosening plaque from the patient's teeth. Additionally, the head of the device is fairly large, limiting the use of the device for cleaning between the cheek and gum.
Still another attempt to facilitate dental hygiene for bedridden patients is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,563. The device includes a toothbrush having two channels, one for lavage and one for suction. In recognition of the necessity of only using a toothbrush for a single patient, the toothbrush is detachable from a suction hose. Unfortunately, the device suffers from the same disadvantages discussed above.
In addition to the need to clean teeth and between the cheek and gums, many patients will need to have their entire mouths washed to remove dried saliva, food particles and the like, as well as the removal of bacterial growth. While the devices discussed above will provide some moisturization, they do not provide the user with a tool to clean such materials from the soft tissue within the mouth.
Yet another problem which is not resolved by the prior art is the need to maintain the suction/lavage source free from contamination. If replaceable toothbrushes and the like are used with a common suction/lavage source, as suggested by U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,563, some mechanism must be provided to ensure that bacteria, viruses, etc., are not reintroduced to the patient with each subsequent use of the suction/lavage source.
Thus, there is a need for an improved oral care system. Such a system would enable the user to thoroughly clean each portion of a patient's mouth, and would enable lavage and suction without causing damage to the soft tissue thereof. Additionally, such a device should be relatively inexpensive to manufacture so that a single oral care system may have a single patient use, thereby preventing cross contamination between patients. Furthermore, such a device should be configured to maintain any contamination within the system such that the nurse or nursers aid using the system need not contact contaminated bodily fluids of the patient.